Age 19 Years
Regiment Number: 55124
Enlisted: April 11th, 1914 - 19th Birthday
Served:
WW1
Queens Own Rifles - 2 months
19th Battalion CEF
WW2
Queens Own Rifles
Date of Birth: April 11, 1895 Belfast, Ireland
I was William Frederick DORAN. I lived in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
'Bill' Doran was almost 13 when his family emigrated to Canada from Belfast, settling in Toronto. In 1911, his younger brother Percy died, aged 8. Bill was left with two sisters.
When World War I broke out, Bill was working as a clerk. On 11 November 1914, he enlisted in the Central Ontario Regiment in Toronto.
His unit, the 19th Battalion Canadian Infantry, left for England in May 1915 and arrived at the port of Boulogne in Northern France on 14 September. The 2nd Canadian Division was immediately deployed at the front. The first fatality occurred in early October.
In early April 1916, Bill was involved in the fierce fighting near Saint-Eloi. On 11 April, he was wounded in the face by gunfire. He was evacuated to Camiers via Vlamertinge and Lijssenthoek and could not rejoin his unit until 6 June.
On 13 June, the Canadian Corps recaptured the lines lost at the beginning of the Battle of Mount Sorrel (Hill 62).
In late August 1916, the Canadian Corps left Belgium to take part in the Battle of the Somme. Bill had by now become a sergeant. On 17 September, during the attack on Courcelette, he was wounded by shrapnel in his thigh and both wrists.
This time he was evacuated to Edgbaston near Birmingham, England. His recovery took a long time and he was sent back to Canada in May 1917.
He was promoted to Lieutenant and Captain and was involved in training the new recruits in the 1st Central Ontario Regiment until December 1918.
After the war, Bill joined T Eaton Company in Toronto, where he worked in the management. In 1925, he married Margaret Audrey Young. Their first girl was stillborn, a son Terry and girl Molly followed.
Bill Doran died in Toronto on 17 January 1970. His granddaughter Mary carefully looks after the personal details of 'Grandpa Doran's' service during the First World War.
To Read his full biography click here.
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